As the Murkrow Flies
by fishoom
Summary: Sarah is caught in a devastating civil war, but that's the least of her worries. With a wimpy hybrid and a possibly insane teen forcing her along, she refuses to accept that things may never return to how they once were. Pokémorph, OT
1. One: As the Murkrow Flies

**Chapter One: As the Murkrow Flies**

"_...skirmishes just outside of Fuschia city have forced the bicycle route to close its doors to all civilians..._"

The radio strapped to her back buzzed static into Sarah's ears. But she didn't dare to reach back and adjust it, now that less than a step away a cliff dropped far below into a tangle of bushes and foliage. She pressed a Taillow into her chest as she scaled the mountain, glancing down at it from time to time. It's breathing was shallow; the Arbok's poison was setting in.

As the path bent around the mountain the girl was hit full force with the glare of the summer sun. The radio fizzled back to life.

"_...tune in at four for more updates on the war in Kanto..._"

A stray rock caught her sandal and she stumbled forward, shooting a prickling fear into her limbs. The height made her head swim.

As soon as she stopped to compose herself, her view was suddenly enveloped in shade. But before she could snap her head over to look, something large and black had smashed into her, sucking the breath right out of her lungs.

The impact threw her straight down the side of the cliff, whose edge snagged a sandal clean off her foot. In a flurry of feathers and wings her Taillow broke free of her grip. Sarah was free falling. Down, down, down.

But her life did not flash before her eyes.

**xxx xxx xxx**

"Ugh..." She awoke first to the coldness of her feet. She propped a hand behind her and sat up as gingerly as she could. An excruciating ache in her head pulsed with every heartbeat. "_Ahh_... ow..."

Night had fallen around her. The girl squinted her eyes through the pain and the darkness. Undergrowth twined around her legs and pines rose up on every side of her. She knew the scrapes along her arms were from their needles.

She hissed in pain.

"Are you okay?"

She whirled around, vertigo churning in her head, and she had to catch herself from falling over. She saw nothing but forest. "What happened?" She said it more to herself. But her thoughts couldn't connect through the ache in her brain, the stinging of her arms and the soreness of her body. "...someone's there?" she managed to mumble, her confusion shifting into fear.

"Yeah." The voice had a raspy quality to it, like its owner had to scrape out every word from their throat. "Please don't be scared." A figure staggered into sight, between the tree trunks to her left, although in the shadows she could not make out a face. "I need your help." Recognizable through the gravelly voice was utter desperation.

"What - what's wrong?" Her mind still could not collect itself.

"My - " There was a pause. "My arm. I think it's broken."

In an instant it all came back to her like a flash of lightning. "Taillow!" she burst, startling the figure. "Have you seen her?" She stumbled to her feet but swayed. The figure on instinct leapt forward to grab her. She caught a full view of him instantly.

Sarah screamed like she never had before.

She turned to run but a black wing wrapped around her waist and thrust her back. "Please, I'm not gonna' hurt you!" She came face to face with a monster. Red eyes, and a beak that stretched over a human face. Shining black feathers. She could not find the breath to scream again. "I'm really hurt," he, it, said. The monster spread a magnificent wing out to his side. It bent at a sharp angle where a deep red soaked through his feathers. "_Please._"

"What _are_ you?" she choked out. Her voice shook with terror. He averted his eyes and lowered his wing. Adrenaline was rushing through her, making the ache in her head feel like it was trying to burst her skull open from the inside. She stepped back, her eyes fixed to him, and leaned against the rough bark of a tree. "I can't help you," she said, staring hard into his eyes. She attempted to swallow a lump in her throat which refused to go away. "I need to find my pokémon."

"But it hurts," he said, his voice sounding wet, "I can't take it any more." He squeezed his eyes shut and took in a wavering breath. Sarah felt a pang of sympathy.

"I don't know how to fix_ that_." She pointed to his side, and noticed her finger quivering. She knew he must be in an incredible amount of pain, but there was no way she was going to trust something that looked the way he did. "Please, just let me find my Taillow. She's poisoned, and - "

Abruptly the monster collapsed at her feet in a heap of dark feathers. She stared with wide eyes at it for some time.

"Are y-you all right?" No answer came. Her anxiety swelled in her chest and her temples itched as sweat ran down her face.

She couldn't believe that she was able to run so fast after a fall from so high.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>This is my first multi-chapter fic, and the first I've written in the Pokémon fandom. I have written the first chapter to a story very similar to this, although I took it down because I wasn't sure where I was going with it. Please note that I really, really, really appreciate constructive criticism.


	2. Two: A Stantler in the Headlights

**Chapter Two: A Stantler in the Headlights**

When he awoke, Aaron was still shrouded in darkness. He could not tell if he had been unconscious for hours or even minutes. But the fierce pain in his wing had dulled, though only slightly. As he rose from his crumpled position on the forest floor, his body shook.

The air was completely silent with only the faint chirping of kricketot a while off. In his peripherals he noticed the yellow of some sort of bundle. He turned towards it for a better look. The girl had left her bag. He kneeled down to it and a crippling pain in his feet nearly made him flop face first into the dirt. He shifted his weight to sit instead, peering down at his shoes. The material was ready to give way under pressure. His cramped feet stretched the seams to their limit. He awkwardly brought his good wing down in attempt to yank them off. But, lacking fingers, his feathers only slipped off the side of his shoes. He leaned farther down, and dug the tip of his beak into one of the shoelaces and tugged. The lace shred open, and using his other foot the shoe was easily pried off.

It revealed a scaly, straw-coloured talon. Aaron's mouth dropped and the blood began to rush in his ears. He popped the other shoe off, and as he flexed each toe he shivered. "Disgusting..." But he turned to the girl's bag and knew he'd soon have to cope with them - they'd be much more practical than his wings.

Grabbing the duffel bag with a talon, he dragged it close to him from across a tangle of ferns. With some effort the bag was unzipped, and after dipping his beak in to rummage through he found that the only thing mildly useful was a bag of potato chips. However disappointed he was, he bit onto the edge of the bag and stood. His mind was reeling, and he wasn't sure if it was from the fall or from blood loss - or perhaps both. The situation seemed so unreal to him that as he began to walk it felt like floating through a dream.

He did not go far before he heard sound. A pokémon? Or just the wind along the trees? It was so weak he was unable to locate it, let alone hear what it was. But however weak it was it was still present, and he held his breath and strained to hear it. There it was again, but a bit louder. Ah, it was right to the front of him.

He set off, ducking under the prickling limbs of the pines. The bag crinkled and squeaked as it swung to and fro in his mouth. He stopped dead. The crinkling would surely alert whoever was producing the noise to his presence. And he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to find the noise-maker in the first place. But the sound, even louder this time, called through the trees. It wailed in a whine that sounded almost human-like. However, it had a miserable quality to it. It was in a deep, somber tone, as if it's maker was in a great deal of pain.

In the desolate situation he was in, Aaron related to such a pitiful plea for help - if that was what it was. With renewed determination he continued on, but this time minding to step lightly.

A hint of red flickered through the undergrowth ahead, followed by a rustling sound. The rustling seemed all-too familiar... His eyes lit up. It was the rustling of wings! He burst forward through the last few trees. There at the base of a thick trunk, was a taillow.

Its large eyes began to well up with tears at the sight of him. Aaron crouched down to its level, gingerly adjusting his broken wing at his side whose pain had deadened into an icy numbness. He discarded the chips to his side. But the sudden movement came unexpected to the little bird and it spread out its wings to appear larger, a look of utter terror on its face.

"Sh, _shhhhh_," he tried to soothe, startled at the taillow's reaction. But at that it began shrieking. It thrashed its wings and it backed itself as far as it could into the tree bark.

Aaron eyed the bag of chips to his side. He bowed down to snatch it up. With his beak he punctured the plastic and a hole was torn wide. The chips spilled out to litter the ground.

An immediate change overcame the the taillow. Its features softened and it brought its wings to rest at its sides. It no longer cared if it was in danger. Cocking its round head, it stared up to him inquisitively, then back down to the spilled snack. He smirked as the little pokémon bobbed its head to retrieve a chip. It was common knowledge that you need only feed a pokémon once and you'll befriend them forever. But he never thought it would be so easy.

**xxx xxx xxx**

Sarah's bare feet were torn up from the forest floor. However much she wouldn't like to admit it, the woods at night filled her with a terror that was normally reserved for near-death situations. A cold sweat shone on her forehead as she rested against a tree, eyes pried wide despite the exhaustion plaguing her body.

But then she heard it - an eerie wail that sounded out from far in the shadows. Her heart leapt to her throat and she swallowed it back down, hard. The ache in her feet was forgotten as she sprang up to run. But just before she could take off it wailed again. But she recognized the sound. Her taillow!

As she staggered in its direction the adrenaline in her blood died down fast. The soreness of her feet returned as the nettles and dirt dug into their rawness. She was reduced to an agonizingly slow hobble. But the wailing halted, and she stopped as well. The seconds ticked by and there was nothing. Just as she was about to take a step it returned. But in a heart-wrenching, guttural shrieking. She pressed on. A hiss tore from her throat as a stone cut into her heal. A hardened look of determination creased her face. She'd rescue her pokémon no matter what the cost.

**xxx xxx xxx**

Aaron was propped against a pine. Taillow munched on the last of the chips sprinkling salt across his lap. If _they_ found him here, he was defenseless. But if no one came along, his injuries would eventually kill him. He was too weak to endure any more walking, and his indecision on what to do debilitated him all the more.

His thoughts had brought him to a dream-like haze when abruptly the crunch of pine nettles snapped him back to consciousness. A few steps ahead a girl 's figure approached. His chest swelled with joy - it was Taillow's owner!

From a pokéball a flash of red ignited the solid black of the night. At the girl's feet a snarling growlithe emerged from the light. His stomach formed a whirlpool which churned an immensity of dread. Taillow froze to that of stone.

"Growlithe, _crunch_!" the girl commanded. Aaron gaped in horror. The fire pokémon's lips curled displaying a brilliant set of fangs that gleamed through the inky blackness. It's powerful legs propelled itself towards them. Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the very worst.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thanks for reading! Sorry I haven't posted in forever. Expect more regular updates from now on - I've finally found my inspiration. Concrit is extremely appreciated!


	3. Three: Sneaky as a Seviper

**AN: **Well, what do you know. I actually updated. I had this chapter halfway done for the longest time and just never finished it. So solly.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Sneaky as a Seviper<strong>

"Wait!"

As if she were crossing a finish line Sarah thrust her body forward, arms outstretched. The growlithe's fangs caught her forearm, several of them digging deep into the soft flesh. A wail errupted from the girl's throat and the growlithe, startled, clawed a gash into her leg as it tore its fangs away. Its bristling fur settled down as the girl crumpled to the ground.

The entire forest went static except for Sarah, racked with sobs. She rose slightly, glancing over to the hybrid boy. His red eyes went from the offending pokémon to her, but snapped up as the growlithe's owner burst forward.

"You _idiot_!" she snarled, "What the hell were you _thinking?_"

Sarah snapped her attention to the girl, her hands clutching her arm and leg so tightly her knuckles were white. Sarah shrunk back, intimidated, although still wary of the monster to the side of her. Through her vision blurred with tears the trainer looked as though she were as tall as the pines themselves.

The trainer's eyes glowered through her angry red hair. "Why would you throw yourself in front of a pokémon like that?" Her eyes flicked to the murkrow boy and back. "What is he to you?"

Sarah felt a surge of irony despite her desolate situation. "N-no. My pokémon - " she choked out, "my taillow - "

But the trainer would not let her finish. "You!" She extended her finger to point to the hybrid. "How'd you get like that?"

Aaron, who was silent for the entire exchange, at last spoke up. "I... think you should help her out." He took a breath, as though the words took an incredible amount of energy to produce. "I'm not going anywhere." He shrugged the shoulder with his bad wing, and the trainer's eyes lit up with understanding. Taillow sat motionless in his lap, the feathers on her head matted with sweat from the effects of the poison.

The storm of anger that the girl brought with her died off as if it never had existed, and her fury seemed to drop from her face. With the flick of her wrist the growlithe backed away from them. The pokémon was fixated on Sarah, it's ears flattened to its head apologetically. "How bad are you hurt?" The trainer knelt down and held out the palm of her hand. "Lemme' see."

Despite the sudden calm in the girl Sarah could see a gale of emotions rampaging just through the surface of her eyes. The instability of the trainer's emotions frightened her. Sarah, albeit reluctantly, brought her arm over for the girl to see.

"Mmm, not good." She clicked her tongue. The red-head crouched down and took out a pocket knife from seemingly nowhere. Sarah eyed it warily. The trainer slid out of her jacket and began sawing at its arms. Once they were both torn loose, she leaned over to Sarah. "It's a tourniquet, see?" Wrapping it just above the girl's elbow, she yanked the fabric painfully tight into a knot. Sarah hissed.

"Ahhowwww! That hurts more than my cut even does," she moaned. The trainer shook her head.

"What a wimp." She did the same to her leg and Sarah sulked, shock sapping away the rest of her pain. The trainer rose and shrugged her ruined jacket back on.

"This isn't going to cut it, you know. I'm going to have to go to a hospital." Sarah turned towards the hybrid. But his eyes were closed, and he was slumped over with his beak lolled wide open. "H-hey! _Wake up!_"

"I would call a pokémon centre, but with him looking like _that_, it's not going to work out," the tall trainer said with her hand hovering over her pocket. She slid out her phone and stared at it idly. "And your pokémon might not survive the night."

At the mention of her pokémon Sarah reached out towards the little bird. It looked up through half-lidded eyes and breathed a pitiful sigh. Fresh tears stung the girl's eyes. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Look, I owe you big, and I know we can't exactly trust each other..." The trainer went on, "but I have a sister in Slateport City that can help you - both you guys out."

"But you'll never make it back in time if you go all the way over there!"

The trainer stared down at her phone again. "I'll go to Mauville's centre and see what I can do." The girl brought a hand down to her growlithe and gave it a pat before returning it to its ball.

"But how do I know you're going to come back? You're - "

" - Here." She dropped her bag next to the girl on the forest floor. "There's an antidote somewhere in my bag."

Sarah closed her mouth. The bag smiled wide as she unzipped it with her uninjured arm. Sure enough there was a transparent flask with only a few drops of the oily liquid remaining. Sarah still wasn't convinced. "At least give me your phone, then. You'd come back for that." Sarah wasn't entirely sure if she would, but if things got too bad she'd be able to call for help.

"Fine." She tossed the device over. "Look, there isn't much time. I promise I'll come back as fast as I can." With that the trainer ducked under the hanging branches and was lost from Sarah's sight.

Sarah struggled to screw off the lid of the antidote but managed to crank it open with her teeth. She found that the lid itself was a small eyedropper. But there was so little of the substance left that the dropper couldn't reach the bottom. Labouriously she leaned as far as she could to get a hold of her pokémon, and helped it onto her lap. As she brought the flask to her pokemon's mouth it easily swallowed the rest of it.

There was no immediate effect. Sarah stroked the red patch of feathers on her taillow's chest as she waited. Growing impatient, she searched through the trainer's bag and grabbed a much larger bottle - a potion. Only upon a few sips Taillow's usual vigour returned. The girl smiled down at the pokémon and it chirped excitedly, glad to finally be comfortable.

Sarah eyed the remaining potion with a glint in her eye. "If it works on you..."

She crawled over to the boy who was still passed out. Taillow hopped off her lap and stood back to observe. The girl raised the bottle just above his mouth. Tentatively, she poured a bit in. At once Aaron sprung forward, sputtering and choking.

"Wha - " _Cough, cough_. "What the -" _Cough_. " - _was that_?"

Sarah held the bottle up for him to see, keeping her distance. "Are you... feeling any better?"

The boy took a moment, but slowly nodded his head. The sudden jolt into consciousness left him a bit bewildered. "I think maybe... Let me try some more."

The girl's heart raced as she edged a bit closer to the monster. It was difficult for him to swallow with his beakish mouth, and not only that, but Sarah's hand could not stop from shaking. She wondered if it was from blood loss. Or was it fear?

He had drank it down to about two gulps. However, half of what he had tried to swallow ended up soaking his feathers. "I can't believe it," he said. He rose his injured wing up like it was nothing at all. "Could you try and pour it on the bloody part here?" Sarah did just that. The potion sizzled and popped on the wound, and the two gawked in amazement. When the reaction had ended the boy stretched out his wing and flapped. It stirred the leaves around them, and nearly knocked Taillow over. "It's completely healed!"

Taillow began squawking like mad. "Hey now, don't be angry." Sarah brought her hand down to soothe the bird but it only backed away. "Listen there's - auughh! "

A pain both like ice and fire unfurled from a prick on her neck. She was paralyzed. A look of utter horror widened the hybrid's eyes. Something smooth wormed across her chest and whorled around her waist. Ever so slowly the agony crept across her neck and enveloped her shoulders and face. Taillow continued to scream.

Her vision was blotting out - she was going to lose consciousness. She tried to fight it, but there was only so much she could do without the ability to move. She could only watch as her face connected with the earth. Before the last dot of her vision ebbed away, she heard a hiss.

_Ssssseviper_

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Please ask me questions/let me be aware of any plot holes that may arise. Not much has happened in the story so far, but it soon gets complicated, so plot holes are something I need to look out for. Thankies! **I love CONCRIT!**


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